Amber and five other hill forts of Rajasthan were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in the cultural heritage category in June 2013. Their inscription was based on their outstanding universal value attributed to military knowledge and building technology evident in fort architecture, and the elaborate court culture of palaces and temples, sustained by the urban economy of their towns, which functioned as trading centers. Monuments are significant but equally important is the cultural landscape fashioned out of the natural defenses of the hilly terrain through the application of traditional design knowledge. Of the six hill forts, the most widely visited is Amber, the historic capital of Kachhawa Rajputs from 1097–1727 CE, five miles north of Jaipur.1 Its cultural landscape is encompassed by historic built structures — fort walls and their bastions and gateways, palaces, gardens, water bodies, temples, and mansions among others — as well as the visual and physical relationships with each other and the surrounding land. The basic structure of the historic landscape is largely intact although Amber town has grown beyond the fort walls in the last century.2 However, tourists seldom venture beyond the palace into the historic settlement at the foothill and thus have no opportunity to see and understand the larger cultural landscape.

• 1. The Kachhawas (also Kachchwahas) trace their descent from Kush, son of Lord Ram, and claim solar dynasty. Originally from Narwar, near Gwalior, they migrated to this part of Rajasthan, known as Dhoondhar in 967 CE and established their capital at Dausa. See Rima Hooja and Rakesh Hooja, ‘Kachchwahas of Amber: From Dulha Rai to the Founding of Jaipur’, Shkiha Jain (ed.) Princely Terrain: Amber, Jaipur, & Shekhavati (Gurgaon, India: Shubhi Publications, 2005), pp. 48–77
• 2. Amber predates the Kachhawa rulers — Kakil Dev captured Amber from Mina tribesmen in 1037 CE, laid the foundation of the fortification system and built the Ambikeshwar Mahadev Temple. When his great grandson Rajdev shifted the capital from Khoh to Amber, the settlement began to grow. Amber Palace was substantially enlarged by Man Singh in 1600 CE with additions by Jai Singh I and Sawai Jai Singh II until the first quarter of the eighteenth century. See Rakesh Hooja and Rima Hooja, ‘Amber: The Erstwhile Capital of the Kachchwaha Rajputs’, Shkiha Jain (ed.) Princely Terrain: Amber, Jaipur, & Shekhavati (Gurgaon, India: Shubhi Publications, 2005), pp. 30–47